Conventional automotive alternators are known that include: a case; a rotor that is disposed inside the case so as to be fixed to a shaft and that also has a fan on an end portion; a stator that is disposed so as to surround the rotor and in which alternating current arises due to a rotating magnetic field from the rotor; and a rectifier that is disposed near an end portion of the shaft and that rectifies the alternating current that arises in the stator, wherein the rectifier includes: a first heat sink; first unidirectional conducting element bodies that are disposed on a front surface of the first heat sink so as to be spaced apart; a second heat sink that is disposed radially outside the first heat sink; second unidirectional conducting element bodies that are disposed on a front surface of the second heat sink so as to be spaced apart; and a circuit board that has terminals that connect the first unidirectional conducting element bodies and the second unidirectional conducting element bodies so as to form a bridge circuit (see Patent Literature 1, for example).
In this example, radially inner end portions of the terminals are bent axially toward the rotor, first terminals of the first unidirectional conducting element bodies that have been led out are welded to first surfaces of the circuit board terminals on a side near the shaft, and second terminals of the second unidirectional conducting element bodies that have been led out are welded to second surfaces of the circuit board terminals on an opposite side from the shaft.
A molded resin portion and the terminals of the circuit board are configured so as to be integrated, but the radially inner end portions of the circuit board terminals project radially inward from the molded resin portion.
Patent Literature 1
WO 2006/033136 (Gazette: FIG. 1)